Steadstyle Chicago
October 2009 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
The Last Unicorn
"This is strange sorcery," declares the unicorn who wagers "There is more meaning than magic in it." Sadly, there is a whole lot of neither in Promethean Theatre Ensemble's ambitious but boring World Premiere stage adaptation of Peter S. Beagle's fantasy novel, "The Last Unicorn". Having never read the original book and never seen the animated film, I can only conclude that whatever literary magic lies in its printed pages has failed to translate to the stage. What a shame that is. Promethean's mission is to engage the imagination through creativity, language and ideas, a noble vision. "The Last Unicorn" fails to engage in any of those aims.
Adaptor/Director Ed Rutherford has supplied such a dense and complex paradox of a plot that only the most dedicated fan of the book may be able to follow it. He blends children's fairy tales with adult mythology, folklore and questing. The beautiful, elusive unicorn of the title is that most sought after of mythological immortality. Unicorns may indeed be solitary creatures, we are told, but the title character refuses to believe she is the last of her species. So she embarks on a journey to the kingdom of Haggard, aided by an inept magician and a scullery maid, to discover where the other unicorns have been driven from the forest by the foreboding Red Bull. Along the way she must choose between love and mortality.
I kept wondering who this work might appeal to. The 5-year-old boy in the audience I attended appeared bored and restless. He wasn't alone either. So were most of the adults, indicated by the smattering of polite but unenthusiastic applause the cast received at the long and merciful conclusion. I was unable to find a single redeeming character or performance with which to empathize. For all the creative ambitions of this company, the large cast simply had no energy to fuel the over-written script.
Visually the production offered little relief. A crude structure of wooden planks is all we are offered in the way of a setting. Where is the magic and enchantment in that? The actors are frequently forced to speak in tandem chorale style or occasionally in a flat monotone narration. Too often they appear uncomfortable and unmotivated in what they are supposed to be doing. Lighting, costumes and sound effects are of the most perfunctory quality. Simplicity is great and perhaps more of it in the writing and adaptation would help. I sincerely applaud Promethean's mission and hope to see stronger creativity and more focused storytelling in their future work.
Promethean Theatre Ensemble presents "The Last Unicorn" through November 14, 2009 at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue in Chicago. The play runs 2 hours 20 minutes with intermission. Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 & 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. There is no Saturday matinee November 7. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling (773) 305-2897 or visiting www.prometheantheatre.org.
About Joe Stead
Joe
Stead has enjoyed a lifelong passion for the theatre, which has
involved acting, directing, producing, designing and reviewing for
the past twenty-five years. He served as founder, producer and
Artistic Director of Curtain Up Productions in Baltimore, Maryland
and Four Star Players in Tampa, Florida. Favorite productions
have included "Life With Father," "Deathtrap,"
"The Odd Couple," "The Miracle Worker,"
"Brighton Beach Memoirs," "You're A Good Man, Charlie
Brown" and "Godspell". He has also performed
leading roles in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Pippin,"
"The Phantom of the Opera," "The Front Page," and
most recently as Hucklebee in "The Fantasticks" for
Waukegan Community Players. Joe holds a degree in Commercial
Art from Tampa Technical Institute. As a critic, he has
reviewed everything from Broadway to community theatre and major
regional theatres throughout the United States including the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey,
Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and the Asolo Theatre in
Sarasota, Florida.
Since 1998, he has been a proud resident of Chicago, the greatest theatre city in America. He served for two years as Theatre Editor for College News and Central Newspapers. He created the website Steadstyle Chicago in 2000 to showcase the city's outstanding and diverse theatre scene. Joe was proud to serve alongside a distinguished panel of theatre professionals as a judge for two seasons of Speaking Ring Theatre's "Vitality" Festival of original short plays. His most fulfilling role, in addition to reviewer and all-around theatre fanatic, was as director of the 2007 production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at Actors Workshop (now Redtwist) Theatre, which was nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Award Citations and won for Best Actor (Peter Oyloe).